Fluid dispensing closures typically include a one-piece integrally molded shell having a base and a lid connected by a hinge to the base to pivot between a closed position adjacent to the base and an open position spaced from the base. The base includes a dispensing opening through which product may be dispensed in the open position of the lid, and through which dispensing is blocked in the closed position of the lid. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,766,926 and 6,880,736 illustrate dispensing closures of this type. It is a general object of the present disclosure to provide a dispensing closure, a dispensing closure and container package, and a method of making a dispensing closure, in which the lid is disposed within a recess in the base and releasably secured to the base in the closed position of the lid, and/or in which a dispensing valve is disposed within the dispensing opening in the base and the lid is structured to prevent inward opening of the valve as the lid is closed.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that may be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A dispensing closure in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure includes a closure shell of one-piece integrally molded plastic construction having a base for securement to a container neck finish and a lid coupled by a hinge to the base. The base has a deck, a recess extending across the deck from a point adjacent to the hinge, and a dispensing opening in the recess. The lid has a base portion for receipt in the recess in the closed position of the lid and a tongue at an end of the lid remote from the hinge. A latch on the base in the recess engages the tongue on the lid releasably to hold the lid in the closed position. The latch preferably comprises a snap latch that includes an internal bead on the tongue and an external latch element in the recess over which the internal bead is received in the closed position of the lid. The base preferably includes a ledge in the recess against which the tongue abuts, and a pair of ribs for frictionally holding the tongue against the body.
A dispensing closure in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure includes a closure shell of one-piece integrally molded plastic construction having a base for securement to a container neck finish and a lid coupled by a hinge to the base. The base has a deck and a skirt, a deck recess extending across the deck from a point adjacent to the hinge, a dispensing opening in the deck recess, and a thumb recess in the skirt that opens into the deck recess at a position opposite from the hinge. The lid has a periphery for receipt in the deck recess in the closed position of the lid and a tongue at an edge of the lid remote from the hinge. A pair of ribs in the thumb recess frictionally engage the tongue, between the ribs and the deck, in the closed position of the lid. The tongue preferably has an internal rib and the deck preferably has an external latch element in the thumb recess for snap-receipt of the internal rib in the closed position of the lid. The deck recess and the lid preferably have laterally spaced side edges that converge between the hinge and the thumb recess. A dispensing valve optionally may be provided in the dispensing opening.
A dispensing closure in accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure includes a closure shell of one-piece integrally molded plastic construction having a base for securement to a container neck finish and a lid coupled by a hinge to the base. The base has a deck with a dispensing opening and an elastomeric dispensing valve disposed within the dispensing opening. The lid has a wall disposed and contoured for receipt within the dispensing opening between the valve and an inner periphery of the dispensing opening to prevent opening of the valve when the lid is closed. The wall has at least one external channel for venting air when the lid is closed. The at least one channel preferably comprises a circumferential array of channels disposed around the outer periphery of the wall.